Stockpile reclaiming apparatus

ABSTRACT

A material receiving unit is pulled along the ground and through the stockpile by a winch-driven cable. Material from the pile flows downwardly into a chamber within the unit and is discharged out of the rear of the unit by a conveyor located in the chamber to catch the downwardly flowing material.

United States Patent Baldwin, Jr.

STOCKPILE RECLAIMING APPARATUS Inventor: Darwin Clark Baldwin, Jr., 921River Ln., Rockford, Ill. 61 l l 1 Filed: Apr. 2, 1973 Appl. No.:347,070

us. c1. 198/36, 214/10 1m. 01 B65g 59/00 Field of Search 214/10, 16 R,44 A, 57,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Peterman 214/10 Apr. 16, 19742,876,886 3/1959 Reynolds 198/7 Primary Examiner-Frank E. WernerAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Wolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann, Ltd.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A material receiving unit is pulled along the ground andthrough the stockpile by a winch-driven cable. Material from the pileflows downwardly into a chamber within the unit and is discharged out ofthe rear of the unit by a conveyor located in the chamber to catch thedownwardly flowing material.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDM n, W.

SHEER 1 I 3 STOCKPILE RECLAIMING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 3 The general aim of the present invention isto provide new and improved stockpile reclaiming apparatus of theforegoing character which is simpler and less expensive than priorapparatus of the same general type and which, at the same time, iscapable of cleaning up the stockpile in an effective manner and withvery little attention on the part of an operator.

A more detailed object is to provide improved reclaiming apparatushaving a unique material receiving unit which is adapted to be movedbeneath and through the stockpile without need of special tracks,tunnels or the like, the unit defining a chamber into which the materialgravitates automatically and also serving to enshroud and protect aconveyor for catching the material flowing into the chamber and fordischarging the material out of the trailing end of the chamber.

A further object is to provide a material receiving unit in which theflow rate of the material into the chamber may be selectively adjustedso as to enable use of the unit with different types of materialswithout overloading the conveyor while still keeping the conveyoroperating near maximum capacity.

Still another object is to advance the material receiving unitautomatically through the pile with a step-bystep motion, the unit firststopping within the pile to clean up the overlying material andthereafter moving further into the pile and beneath another section ofmaterial. a

The invention also resides in the novel construction of the materialreceiving unit to facilitate its insertion into and movement through thepile and also to enable the material to be elevated at the same time itis discharged from the unit. The invention is further characterized bythe comparatively simple mechanism used to pull the unit through thepile.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent from the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view schematicallyshowing new and improved stockpile reclaiming apparatus incorporatingthe novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the material receiving unit.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantiallyalong the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of mechanism used to pull the materialreceiving unit through the pile.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary control circuit for the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present inventioncontemplates the provision of comparatively simple and inexpensiveapparatus which, with very little attention on the part of an operator,may be used to remove material such as sand or gravel from a stockpile10 and to convey the material to a remote point for further handling. Ingeneral, the invention is characterized by a material receiving unit 11which defines a material receiving chamber 13 (FIG. 3) and which isadapted to be inserted into and advanced through the stockpile. Materialgravitates downwardly from the pile and into the chamber and isdischarged rearwardly therefrom by a power-driven conveyor 14 enshroudedby the unit and adapted to move through the pile with the unit.

More specifically, the material receiving unit 11 includes a steel platedefining a flat and relatively wide base 15 (FIG. 2) adapted to slideupon the surface of the ground beneath the stockpile 10. Supported uponthe base and coacting with the latter to define the chamber 13 are threefabricated steel sections, namely, a leading nose section 16, anintermediate gate section 17, and a trailing discharge section 18. Eachsection is defined by two vertical side walls 19 connected to an upperor top wall 20 by inclined panels 21.

Advantageously, the top wall 20 of the nose section 16 is inclineddownwardly and forwardly while the side walls 19 thereof are inclinedinwardly and forwardly so that the nose section is streamlined with adownward and inward taper to facilitate insertion of the unit 11 intothe stockpile 10 and to decrease its resistance to movement through thepile. The top wall 20 of the gate section 17 is joined at its forwardedge to the top wall of the nose section 16 and is located in agenerally horizontal plane. Formed through the top wall of the gatesection is a rectangular opening 23 (FIG. 3) which permits material fromthe stockpile to gravitate downwardly into the chamber 13. Such materialflows downwardly through a hopper 24 underlying the opening 23 and iscaught by the conveyor 14 for discharge out of the trailing end of theunit 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the conveyor 14 comprises an endless belt 25trained around upper and lower rollers 26 and 27 and having a troughedupper run which is supported by suitably arranged guide rollers 29, theupper roller 26 being power-rotated by an electric motor 30 (FIG. 1) soas to advance the upper run of the belt rearwardly. The various rollersare journaled by frame members 31 anchored within the unit 11 bybrackets 33 (FIG. 3) which are positioned so as to locate the upstreamend of the conveyor within the nose section 16 and just forwardly of thehopper 24. From its upstream end, the conveyor is inclined upwardly andrearwardly for the purpose of elevating the material at the same timethe material is conveyed rearwardly, such inclination being permitted byvirtue of the top wall 20 of the rear section 18 being inclined upwardlyand rearwardly from the top wall of the gate section 17 (see FIG. 3). Anauxiliary conveyor 35 (FIG. 1) is connected to the downstream end of theconveyor 14 to swing about a generally vertical axis and serves to catchthe material discharged from the conveyor 14 and to transfer suchmaterial to a remote point for discharge into a truck 36 or othermaterial handling equipment positioned along one side of the stockpile10. The auxiliary conveyor is supported on wheels 37 and moves alongbehind the unit 11 as the latter advances into the pile.

When the unit 11 is positioned within the pile 10 but is not inoperation, it is desirable to shut off the flow of material through theopening 23 so that the material will not accumulate on the idle conveyor14. Also, various types of materials flow through the opening 23 atdifferent rates and thus it is desirable to adjust the size of theopening to establish the highest flow rate which can be handled by theconveyor without overloading the latter. For these purposes, agate valve40 (FIG. 3) in the form of a flat plate is positioned beneath the topwall 20 of the gate section 17 and is guided for back and forth slidingacross the opening 23 by a pair of channels 41 supported on the sidewalls 19. A reversible electric motor 43 is connected to rotate a leadscrew 44 journaled by stationary brackets 45 and threaded into astationary nut 46 carried on the underside of the gate 40. By rotatingthe screw with the motor 43, the gate may be slid forwardly across theopening 23 to close off all or part of the opening.

Preferably, the unit 11 is pulled through the pile 10 by a winch 50(FIGS. 1 and 4) adapted to be powerrotated by an electric motor 51. Asshown in FIG. 1, the winch is located at the end of the pile oppositethe end into which the unit 11 is initially inserted and is supported ona skid 53. A flexible line or cable 54 threaded through the pile isanchored at one end to the forward end of the unit 1 l as indicated at55 (FIG. 3), is wrapper around the winch 50, and is anchored at itsopposite end to a take-up drum 56 (FIG. 4) which is also supported onthe skid and which is adapted to be rotated by an electric motor 57. Alarge plate 59 upstands from the skid 53 and is positioned against thepile as shown in FIG. 1 to keep the skid from being drawn into the pilewhen the winch is rotated to pull the unit 11 through the pile.

In carrying out an advantageous aspect of the invention, means areprovided for automatically deenergizing the winch motor 51 after theunit 11 has been pulled a predetermined distance into the pile l and forautomatically re-energizing the motor after material has been removedfrom the pile and the size thereof has been reduced. Herein, these meanscomprise a limit switch LS-l (FIGS. 3 and connected into the controlcircuit of the motor 51 and supported on a framework 60 which is mountedon the upper wall of the discharge section 18. A feeler 61 is pivoted onthe framework at 63 and is biased outwardly either by the spring-loadedactuator of the switch or by a separate spring (not shown). As long asthe feeler is in its outward position shown in phantom in FIG. 3, theswitch LS-l is closed and enables energization of the motor 51 so thatthe latter rotates the winch 50 to pull the unit 11 into the pile. Afterthe unit has been pulled a predetermined distance into the pile, thefeeler 61 engages the inclined side of the pile and is pivotedrearwardly as shown in full lines in FIG. 3. The feeler thus depressesthe switch actuator to open the switch, deenergize the winch motor andstop further movement of the unit. After sufficient material has flowedthrough the opening 23 to cause the side of the pile to shift forwardlyrelative to the feeler, the latter springs outwardly to close the switchand cause further forward movement of the unit until the switch is againopened. In this way, the unit is pulled through the pile with anintermittent motion, the unit stopping to remove the overlying materialand then advancing automatically into a new section of material.

To set up the apparatus for use, the cable 54 is threaded through thepile 10 adjacent one of the long sides of the pile and from the same endof the pile into which the unit 11 is initially inserted, this being theright end as viewed in FIG. 1. To thread the cable, a bulldozer may pusha length of pipe (not shown) into and through the pile from right toleft until the left end of the pipe emerges out of the left end of thepile. If the pile is extremely long, one section of pipe may be pushedinto the pile, another section then may be coupled to the right end ofthe first section and pushed in and so on until a length of pipe extendscompletely through the pile. One end of the cable then may be connectedto the right end of the pipe, and the bulldozer may pull on the left endof the pipe until the left end of the cable emerges from the pile. Theleft end of the cable then may be wrapped around the winch 50 andanchored to the take-up drum 56.

After the cable 54 has been threaded, the unit 11 and the winch 50 arepositioned substantially as shown in FIG. 1, the motors 30, 43, 51 and57 all are deenergized, and the gate 40 is in a fully closed position.

When the gate is fully closed, its front edge engages the actuator of alimit switch LS-2 (FIGS. 3 and 5) on the underside of the top wall 20 ofthe gate section 17 and such engagement serves to keep the switch in anopen condition. A second limit switch LS-3 is mounted within thedischarge section 18 adjacent the rear edge of the gate 40 and isadapted to open when the rear edge engages the switch actuator as anincident to opening of the gate. The limit switch LS-3 is supported forselective manual adjustment lengthwise of the screw 44 by meansindicated generally at (FIG. 3) and its position may be changed so thatits actuator is engaged when the gate opens to different selectedpositions.

Let it be assumed that the driver of the truck 36 wishes to load thetruck with material from the pile 10. He may drive the truck to aposition beneath the discharge end of the auxiliary conveyor 35 as shownin FIG. 1. A control pendant (not shown) preferably is supported on theauxiliary conveyor and is accessible to the driver while he is seated inthe cab. By momentarily depressing a start button on the pendant, thedriver may close a start switch ST (FIG. 5) to energize a rely CR acrosselectrical lines L-l and L-2 connected to a suitable voltage source.When the relay is energized, normally open relay contacts CR-l, CR-2,CR-3 and CR-4 are closed while normally closed contacts CR-S are opened.Closure of contacts CIR-l establishes a sealing circuit around the startswitch ST and keeps the relay CR energized when the driver releases thestart button to open the start switch.

Upon closing of the contacts CR-3, the conveyor motor 30 is energized todrive the upper run of the belt 25 in a rearward direction. Whencontacts CR-2 are closed, the gate motor 43 'is energized through theclosed limit switch LS-3 and turns the screw 44 in a direction to openthe gate 40. As the gate opens, the open limit switch LS-2 closes but isnot effective to energize the gate motor in the reverse direction sincethe contacts CR-S are open.

The gate 40 opens until its rear edge causes the limit switch LS-3 toopen and de-energize the gate motor 43.

when the relay CR is energized, the switch LS-l is in a closed conditionand causes energization of the winch motor 51 and the take-up motor 57.The unit 11 is thus pulled into the pile until the feeler 61 isdeflected inwardly by the side of the pile and opens the switch LS-l tode-energize the motors 51 and 57.

Withthe unit 11 inserted into the pile l and with the gate 40 open,material from the pile flows downwardly through the opening 23 and iscaught by the conveyor 14. The latter discharges the material onto theauxiliary conveyor 35 which, in turn, dumps the material into the truck36. When sufficient material is removed from the pile to permit thefeeler 61 to swing outwardly, the winch 50 is again rotated to insertthe unit 11 further into the pile. The auxiliary conveyor 35 movesforwardly with the unit, and the truck 36 may be driven forwardly ifnecessary.

After the truck 36 has been loaded, the driver may depress a stop buttonon the pendant to open a stop switch SP (FIG. and de-energize the relayCR. This closes the relay contacts CR-5 and energizes the gate motor 43through the closed limit switch LS-2. The gate motor turns the screw 44in a direction to close the gate 40 and, as the rear edge of the gatemoves away from the actuator of the limit switch LS-3, the latter closespreparatory -to the next cycle. As the gate reaches its closed position,it engages the actuator of the limit switch LS-2 to open such switch anddeenergize the gate motor 43 and the conveyor motor 30. It will be notedthat the conveyor 14 runs until the gate is closed and thus most of thematerial on the conveyor is discharged therefrom before the apparatus isshut down.

The foregoing operation may be repeated until the unit 11 reaches theleft end of the pile 10. The unit then may be towed back around to theright end of the pile and re-inserted to move along a path spacedtransversely of the first path. By pulling the unit through the pilealong successive paths, substantially the entire pile may be reclaimed.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present inventionbrings to the art a new and improved stockpile reclaiming apparatuswhich is of relatively simple construction and which requirescomparatively little operator time. Those of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that the winch 50 could be carried in the unit 11 itselfor that other suitable means could be used for advancing the unit, suchmeans preferably coacting with the cable 54. Also, it will beappreciated that an electrical cable may be strung along the cable 54 ormay be strung on poles alongside the pile for the purpose ofelectrically connecting the unit 11 with the pendant and the motors 51and 57 and for the purpose of connecting the motors 30 and 43 with thevoltage source.

I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus for reclaiming a stockpile of flowable solid material, saidapparatus comprising a material receiving unit adapted to be moved alongthe ground and inserted into one side of the stockpile, said unitincluding means defining a walled chamber, an opening in the top wall ofsaid chamber to permit material from the stockpile to flow downwardlyinto the chamber, mechanism carried on said unit and adjustable to closeoff said opening, a powered conveyor disposed within said chamberbeneath said opening and operable to catch the material flowing intosaid chamber and to discharge such material out of the trailing end ofsaid unit, a line extending into said stockpile adjacent the bottomthereof and having a first end connected to said unit, the other end ofsaid line being anchorednear the opposite side of said stockpile, andpower-actuated means acting on said line to pull said unit through thestockpile.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said unit includes a nose onits leading end, said nose tapering downwardly and forwardly and alsotapering inwardly and forwardly to facilitate movement of said unit intoand through said stockpile.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which part of said chamber isdefined within said nose, the upstream end of said conveyor beinglocated in said nose.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which the top wall in which saidopening is defined is located rearwardly of said nose and extendsgenerally horizontally, the rear portion of said chamber having anupwardly and rearwardly inclined upper wall, said conveyor beinginclined upwardly and rearwardly within said chamber and having aportion underlying said upper wall.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means carried onsaid unit and responsive to the position of the unit relative to saidstockpile to alternately inactivate and activate said power-actuatedmeans.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said power-actuated meanscomprise a rotatable winch located on the opposite side of saidstockpile and operable when rotated to pull said line and said unitthrough the stockpile, and a motor connected to said winch for rotatingthe latter.

. 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 further including manually operablemeans for initially energizing said motor and thereby cause insertion ofsaid unit'into said stockpile, and means carried on said unit andoperable to sense said one side of said stockpile and automaticallyde-energize said motor when said unit has been pulled a predetermineddistance into said stockpile, said last-mentioned means being operableto automatically re-energize said motor after said one side of saidstockpile has shifted a predetermined distance as a result of materialbeing removed from said stockpile through said opening.

8. Apparatus for reclaiming a stockpile of flowable solid material, saidapparatus comprising a material receiving unit adapted to be moved alongthe ground and inserted into one side of the stockpile, said unitincluding means defining an enclosure having top, bottom and upstandingside walls, an opening in the top wall of said enclosure to permitmaterial from the stockpile to flow downwardly into the enclosure, apowered conveyor disposed within said enclosure beneath said opening andoperable to catch the material flowing into said enclosure and todischarge such material out of an opening in the trailing end of saidunit, and means for advancing said unit along a substantially straightpath through said stockpile.

1. Apparatus for reclaiming a stockpile of flowable solid material, saidapparatus comprising a material receiving unit adapted to be moved alongthe ground and inserted into one side of the stockpile, said unitincluding means defining a walled chamber, an opening in the top wall ofsaid chamber to permit material from the stockpile to flow downwardlyinto the chamber, mechanism carried on said unit and adjustable to closeoff said opening, a powered conveyor disposed within said chamberbeneath said opening and operable to catch the material flowing intosaid chamber and to discharge such material out of the trailing end ofsaid unit, a line extending into said stockpile adjacent the bottomthereof and having a first end connected to said unit, the other end ofsaid line being anchored near the opposite side of said stockpile, andpower-actuated means acting on said line to pull said unit through thestockpile.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said unitincludes a nose on its leading end, said nose tapering downwardly andforwardly and also tapering inwardly and forwardly to facilitatemovement of said unit into and through said stockpile.
 3. Apparatus asdefined in claim 2 in which part of said chamber is defined within saidnose, the upstream end of said conveyor being located in said nose. 4.Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which the top wall in which saidopening is defined is located rearwardly of said nose and extendsgenerally horizontally, the rear portion of said chamber having anupwardly and rearwardly inclined upper wall, said conveyor beinginclined upwardly and rearwardly within said chamber and having aportion underlying said upper wall.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1further including means carried on said unit and responsive to theposition of the unit relative to said stockpile to alternatelyinactivate and activate said power-actuated means.
 6. Apparatus asdefined in claim 1 in which said power-actuated means comprise arotatable winch located on the opposite side of said stockpile andoperable when rotated to pull said line and said unit through thestockpile, and a motor connected to said winch for rotating the latter.7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 further including manually operablemeans for initially energizing said motor and thereby cause insertion ofsaid unit into said stockpile, and means carried on said unit andoperable to sense said one side of said stockpile and automaticallyde-energize said motor when said unit haS been pulled a predetermineddistance into said stockpile, said last-mentioned means being operableto automatically re-energize said motor after said one side of saidstockpile has shifted a predetermined distance as a result of materialbeing removed from said stockpile through said opening.
 8. Apparatus forreclaiming a stockpile of flowable solid material, said apparatuscomprising a material receiving unit adapted to be moved along theground and inserted into one side of the stockpile, said unit includingmeans defining an enclosure having top, bottom and upstanding sidewalls, an opening in the top wall of said enclosure to permit materialfrom the stockpile to flow downwardly into the enclosure, a poweredconveyor disposed within said enclosure beneath said opening andoperable to catch the material flowing into said enclosure and todischarge such material out of an opening in the trailing end of saidunit, and means for advancing said unit along a substantially straightpath through said stockpile.